


How it goes

by Miralana



Category: Peaky Blinders (TV)
Genre: 5+1 Things, F/M, Prompt Fill, post season one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-22
Updated: 2013-10-22
Packaged: 2017-12-30 04:18:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1014005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miralana/pseuds/Miralana
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For the prompt: Tommy takes Grace to the next family meeting. Her interactions with everyone and Tommy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	How it goes

**Author's Note:**

> Post s1e6 where Tommy has forgiven Grace and they're together, but the family is not amused.

**28** **th**   **March 1920**

It was probably the most awkward day in her entire existence. She hadn't even really wanted to be here on this day but Tommy had insisted, had told her that she was family after all – not officially and Grace wasn't sure if it would ever come to that and if she even wanted it to come to that – so she really needed to come to a family meeting. She wasn't sure if he was just getting tired to endure the complains of his family by himself or if there really was a purpose to it.

She realised that there had been at least a bit of thinking to his decision about this particular date, when she heard on the streets that morning that the Peaky Blinders had made another fortune on the betting of the Grand National.

She wasn't surprised.

 

 

**I. Esme Shelby**

“Huh.” Was the first thing the woman said, when she ran into them, seconds after they had entered the house. Grace needed a moment to put herself together again and she recognised the woman as John's wife Esme. Interestingly, Esme was smiling at her rather happily.

“I wasn't aware that you were coming today.” Esme said and to Grace immense discomfort she realised that Tommy had slipped away, smiling at her from behind the other woman's shoulder. Grace tried to keep a smile up, when her gaze returned to Esme.

“I was … um... It was a last minute decision.” She said, after she realised that she had to give an answer.

Esme smiled and for a moment Grace was just happy that there wouldn't be another family member out for her blood. She didn't even realise that Esme had put her own arm under Grace's and guided her to the kitchen door, until they had passed the doors.

 

 

**II. Ada Thorne**

The look she got from Ada was probably enough to even out Esme's niceness. Ada was sitting on a stool, nursing her little son while Esme returned to cupboards to … ah, to get out glasses and place them on a tablet next to a lot of bottles of whiskey.

“I wasn't aware that we are now allowing whores inside the house.” Was the first thing she said and Grace looked down. She didn't say anything, _knew_ that she didn't have the right to defend herself after what she did to the younger woman and her family.

“I'm sorry. I truly am.” Was the only thing she could say and Ada snorted and pulled her son closer to her breasts.

“Yeah, I don't care. Polly knows you're here?”

Grace shook her head and that was finally the one thing that made Ada smile.

“Well, then I don't need to care. She's probably going to kill you on sight.”

Yeah, that's was what would probably happen.

 

 

**III. Arthur Shelby**

It didn't take long for Tommy to call for them. While Ada put her son on her hip, Esme put a tablet in Grace's hands, as well as carrying two herself.

Grace didn't dare to look anywhere else than straight forward or down on the glasses and put them down on the table. She didn't get to walk away fast enough before she was running into Arthur who just gave her the look he had been given her for the past three months. _Disappointed. Betrayed._ That she of all people could have done something like that to their family.

Suddenly she felt cold and wanted to put a hand on his shoulder, to apologize wholeheartedly but knowing that there were others watching she just turned around and let Esme push her next to herself and John.

 

 

**IV. Polly Gray**

“I can't believe that you had the nerve to actually show up.”  
It was the voice Grace had feared and she clenched her hands, trying not to show any weakness.

“Tommy insisted.”

“Oh and you do what Tommy says?” Polly said quietly, because nobody of them wanted to interrupt Tommy's speech about the thousands of pounds they had made from the Grand National even if Grace saw that his eyes wandered every so often back to them, as if he wasn't sure that Polly wouldn't kill her right before the eyes of everyone.

“No. But it's important to him and who am I to deny him this?”

“Even if you afraid what we all might do?”

“Even then.”

Polly smiled and they both raised their glasses to their mouths when the speech was over, and everyone was clapping.

“Well, I hope you don't expect that now you can just come here and spend the day like the other woman do. That's something only real Shelby woman can do. And you'll never be one.”

Polly left her with a smile on her lips and Grace just wanted to sit down, because her legs threatened to give up under her.

 

 

**V. Finn Shelby**

“I think Aunt Pol doesn't like you.”

Grace looked up from her whiskey glass, ready to give whoever thought that that was a good first sentence the nastiest look when she realised that it was the youngest Shelby brother.

She never had dealt with him that much – mostly because he hadn't been at the pub that often – so she was unsure what to say to him. Especially because he looked at her with this kind of curious judging look that children had perfected around her.

“Aunt Pol has her reason.” She simply said and Finn grimaced.

“But ain't you Tommy's wife?”

Grace nearly chocked on her whiskey and shook her head rapidly. Finn gave her a well meant pat on the arm and she forced herself to smile. She didn't know how much Finn actually knew about what had happened so she simply said: “We're not married.”

The grimace from before turned into a knowing look and the boy smiled. “Then of course that's why Aunt Pol is angry. She really believes in god and his … stuff.” And she had no problem ignoring a few of his rules when she needed it. _Catholics_.

“I don't think it's that.” She tried to say but Finn clinked their glasses together and turned around.

“I'll tell her that it's stupid to not like you because of that!”

And he was gone.

 

 

**\+ I. Tommy**

“He's a bit overenthusiastic sometimes.”

Tommy had returned to her, laying a hand on the small of her back which she automatically sank into. She felt like she just had a survived the most dangerous fight of her life and that was probably the truth.

“Do you think she'll mind?”

“What, that Finn thinks he can tell her what to do because he likes you? No, he's eleven, he gets like that.”  
“He doesn't a know a lot of things, doesn't he?”

“Yeah.”

They stood there against the wall, watching the rest of the family, Freddie carrying the baby around under the watchful eye of Ada and Polly, John and Esme kissing heavily against a table to the big embarrassment of Curly and Arthur who were sitting right next to them, talking with Jeremiah and Scudboat about the race and Troytown – not that she had heard much about it besides what Tommy told her. Not that she was doing much at the moment. Working in a different pub that belonged to Tommy and accompanying Tommy to meetings with potential buisness partners was more then what she did before – well more than she pretended to do before – but nevertheless it felt like nothing. Even if she had never been over picky over her workplace she missed working at the Garrison. But Arthur hadn't forgiven her and it would probably take a long time – or until summer if one could believe Tommy – until he would be ready to talk to her.

“Grace?” Tommy's voice pulled her out of her thoughts and she looked up to see him looking at her like he tried to figure something out. She also realised that he had snuck his whole arm around her, probably to get her out of her daydream and she put her hand on his chest and stroked with her finger over the placket on his waistcoat, taking a sip from the glass in her other one.

“What is it?”

“I asked you, if you were okay, today. I left you alone because I want them to respect you and I hope no one stepped out of line. Well more than we expected them to be.”

She smiled, looking around again and wished that someday she might really belong here. “It was fine. Esme was very nice to me and the two words I exchanged with John weren't him trying to threaten or insult me, so I count it as a success.”

Tommy let out a throaty laugh and emptied his glass.

“Well that's probably because not even one of her kin got hurt in December, because of you.”

Because due to her, all of Kimber's men had been to Birmingham and not to the races. She hadn't thought of that.

“How it goes.” She said and looked around the room again, this time to capture Arthur's gaze, who in return silently raised his glass to her.

_How it goes indeed._

**Author's Note:**

> I made this a 5+1 thing because I thought it would be kinda boring to have Grace talk to every single member of the family and it would've been kinda boring. I also didn't let her talk to Freddie, because I think he has the same thoughts as Ada – but would probably not be as insulting as she is. Same with John. I think we can all agree that Esme has him wrapped around her little finger, so he isn't that comfortable but he doesn't mind the relationship. Arthur on the other side didn't talk to her because for me it seems like the thing he'd do. But he also wants Tommy to be happy and he's able to forgive her especially after he saw the whole Grace vs Polly thing and that she didn't faint or run away.
> 
> Useless Facts: On 27th March in 1920 the horse Troytown actually won the Grand National, I'm not making that up.
> 
> Send me prompts on [tumblr](www.everknowing.tumblr.com/ask), if you'd like to read more.


End file.
